Which countries did Zheng He go to during his voyages to the West?

Zheng He’s seven voyages to the West, each time the route he took and the places he passed were different.

*** has traveled to more than 30 countries, but many of them are just guesses and are still a mystery.

Chinese academic circles generally believe that Zheng He's voyages went as far as the east coast of Africa to present-day Kenya and Tanzania.

British scientist Joseph Needham once quoted cartographer Fra Mauro as saying that Zheng He’s fleet had crossed the Cape of Good Hope in 1420.

3. The British man Menzies believed that Zheng He’s fleet arrived in America in 1421 and discovered the New World more than 70 years before Columbus.

4. Malaysian scholar Zufijia proposed that Zheng He’s fleet reached the Antarctic as far as 1422.

5. In the 1950s, Australian Fitzrad published "Did the Chinese Discover Australia?" ” article, it is believed that Zheng He’s fleet may have reached the port of Darwin in northwest Australia in the 15th century.

The above picture is taken from "1421: China's Discovery of the World" by Gavin Menzies (UK). The four routes marked in the lower left corner are all branches of Zheng He's fleet's seventh voyage to the West.

In 2002, Menzies, a retired British naval officer, made an astonishing inference at the Royal Geographical Society: China’s Zheng He’s Pacific Fleet arrived in America in 1421, and Zheng He should have preceded Columbus by more than 70 years. The first person to discover the New World. Menzies's inference shocked the Western academic community, and his book "1421: China Discovered the World" became a best-selling book. In China, Menzies's inference made the long-standing controversial topic - where Zheng He went in his voyages to the West - once again become a topic of academic concern.

As the 600th anniversary of Zheng He’s voyages to the West approaches, and with the Chinese version of Menzies’s “1421: China’s Discovery of the World” published in China, the debate on this question has become more intense. Did Zheng He just stop at the east coast of Africa, or did he reach the Mediterranean, discover America for the first time, and even reach the Antarctic? All the problems seem so confusing and mysterious.

Ming history records that Zheng He reached as far as the east coast of Africa

For a long time, Chinese academic circles have mostly relied on historical documents to study Zheng He's voyages to the West. "History of the Ming Dynasty: Biography of Zheng He" and the book "Yingya Scenic Spots" written by Zheng He's assistant Ma Huan both record that Zheng He went to the West as far as Mugudushu, Zhubu, and Malin on the east coast of Africa, which is today Kenya and Tanzania.

According to the "History of Ming Dynasty·Zheng He Biography", there are 36 countries and regions that Zheng He passed through during his seven voyages to the West: Champa, Java, Chenla, Old Port, Siam, and Guli , Mansika, Boni, Sumatra, Aru, Kochi, Big Gullan, Little Gullan, Western Zori, Sulu, Kayile, Adang, Nambuli, Gambali, Lanshan , Pahang, Jilandan, Hulumos, Liushan, Sunci, Mugudushu, Ma Lindi, Cisa, Zufaer, Zhubu, Manbasa, Tianfang, Lidai, Na Orphan, Saliwan Nepal (now the southern tip of the Indian Peninsula) and Burawa (now in Somalia).

There are many records in "Records of the Ming Dynasty" about sending Zheng He as envoys to various Western countries, including some countries in Africa. For example: "Ding Mao in the twelfth month of the fourteenth year of Yongle, in Guli... all the wood and bones were tied up... Bulawa... Ma Lin... the envoys of the Xuanwei Department from all the countries and the old port returned, and they were all given fine clothes and robes. Zheng He, the central official, and others were sent to present imperial edicts, Jinqi, Shaluo, Caijuan and other items to the kings. "On Wuzi, the first month of the 19th year of Yongle's reign, Hurumosi... Bu Lawa and wooden bones were all bundled..." The envoys of the Sixteen Kingdoms were sent to pay tribute to famous horses and gifts, and the Ministry of Rites was ordered to give them a banquet. The envoys of the Sixteen Kingdoms, including Guisi and Hurumosi, returned to the country and were given cash, coins, and imperial edicts as well as Jin Qi. , gauze, silk and other things, give them to the king, and they will accompany the envoys."

Interestingly, some archaeological experts have also discovered more than 100 ancient Chinese porcelain sites on the east coast of Africa. Many ancient Chinese porcelains from the 14th and 15th centuries were unearthed among them. Scholars also believe that these were left behind by Zheng He when he sailed to the west and reached the east coast of Africa.

For example, "The Discovery of Ancient Chinese Porcelain in Africa" ??written by Ma Wenkuan and Meng Fanren also introduces in detail the discovery and unearthing of ancient Chinese porcelain in various parts of Africa. According to the book, many ancient Chinese porcelains from the 14th and 15th centuries have been discovered in Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania on the east coast of Africa.

“This can be used as a strong evidence that Zheng He sailed to Africa.

Zhu Jianqiu, an expert who has been engaged in ocean map research, said this in interviews with many media.

Foreign scholars speculate that the furthest reaches are the Americas or Antarctica

However, in recent years, there have been constant speculations about This mainstream view has raised questions and objections. The "brave men" represented by Menzies seem to believe that given Zheng He's ability, he should do more and go further.

In addition to Menzies’s belief that Zheng He arrived in the American continent in 1421, the British historian of science Joseph Needham quoted the British cartographer Fra Mauro in his "History of Chinese Science and Technology" as saying that the Chinese style of sailing in the Indian Ocean in 1420 Sailing ships are Zheng He's fleet.

There is a note on the world map drawn by Mauro in 1459, inferring that Chinese sailing ships sailed past the Cape of Good Hope in 1420: "About 1420, a ship from India The Chinese-style sailing ship sailed south and southwest from Cape Dibb for 40 days (about 2,000 nautical miles) and then returned to Cape Dibb on the 70th day. This ship is exactly one of Zheng He’s fleet! "Cape Dibb is near the island of Madagascar. From there, we sailed south and southwest for 40 days and speculated that we had passed the Cape of Good Hope. Therefore, Needham believed that Zheng He had sailed around the Cape of Good Hope.

What's more, the ancestors of Malaysian scholars Figa pointed out that Zheng He's fleet reached as far as Antarctica, and Zheng He also reached the Australian continent.

According to the usual Western "history of geographical discovery", the first Europeans to arrive in Australia were the Dutch. In 1606, they explored the Gulf of Carpentaria. In 1642, the Dutch navigator Tasman discovered Tasmania (then named Van Diemen's Land). In 1770, the British navigator Cook arrived and mapped Botany Bay. Parts of Australia.

Zulfiga believes that Zheng He’s huge fleet set sail from China, passed through the Strait of Malacca, India, and the coast of East Africa and then continued sailing south. He said that Zheng He’s fleet sailed south in 1422. Arriving at the Antarctic continent. He also pointed out that after discovering the Antarctic continent, Zheng He's fleet returned to China via the Australian continent.

In the 1950s, Australia's Fitzrad published "It was discovered by the Chinese." In the article "Did you reach Australia?", he believed that Zheng He's fleet probably arrived at Darwin Port in northwest Australia in the 15th century. The evidence is that a stone statue of a Chinese longevity star was unearthed there in 1879.

Domestic academic circles deny it. Foreign views

Most Chinese scholars who study Zheng He do not agree with these different views, whether they are historians or navigation scientists, they all view the above from their own professional perspectives. The statement was denied. The one who faced the greatest opposition was undoubtedly Menzies.

“It’s not that it’s very possible, it’s that it’s completely impossible. "For Menzies's view, Mao Peiqi, president of the Beijing Zheng He Research Association and professor of history at Renmin University, completely rejected Menzies's view.

Menzies's research on Zheng He was due to a discovery in the United States. Zhang's ancient map of China was drawn based on longitude and latitude. After expert research, some people believed that it was drawn by the Chinese. Menzies believed that this map was left by Zheng He's fleet.

However. Mao Peiqi said that the way ancient Chinese maps were drawn was different from that of the West. At that time, China did not have maps drawn based on longitude and latitude. "Therefore, the map Menzies pointed to could not have been drawn by the Chinese. ”

Ma Renru, director of the Nanjing Zheng He Research Association, said that the director of the Minnesota State Library in the United States once said that they did have a map Menzies mentioned in their library, but they could not judge whether it was The map was drawn by the Chinese.

Another important reason for Menzies is that the shipwrecks in the Caribbean are Zheng He's ships, and that Chinese characters have been found in tombs at Canadian island sites, and the residents of the sites were. Genes of yellow people. Almost all experts expressed denial of these pieces of evidence, but they did not come up with specific reasons for their objections. “These are all without definite basis and cannot be verified. "Mao Peiqi said.

But Menzies himself is quite confident. His confidence comes from the fact that he believes that he has mastered information that Chinese researchers have not mastered. In an interview, he said that after receiving Among the 100,000 letters, 99.4% supported his views. “Most Chinese scholars do research and look up information in China. No one goes out to Europe, America, Africa and other places like me. Conduct field visits and review information.

Menzies said, "Chinese scholars cannot see this information because none of them have gone out like me." ”

Menzies’ words have to make us notice: Most Chinese researchers rely on historical documents to study Zheng He, and they all try to find important clues in the pile of old papers. However, after all, domestic documents are Limited, not to mention that the most important information about Zheng He's voyages to the West has long been wiped out. This will inevitably be "joked" by researchers like Menzies who are looking for information everywhere. If our researchers can do the same. Go out like Menzies, and maybe "how far Zheng He has gone" will no longer be a mystery.